Seeking advice on crossing

[estarzinger]

The boat is fine . . . . . If in capable hands.
The OP just need to make sure they develop those capable hands.
They have time set aside in their program to do so.
They just need to realize that #1 offshore is very different than coastal - and they need to do both; & #2 build skills, while learning to filter out all that marketing telling them to buy ****.

All IMHO of course

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Wow, Luther! I guess there wasn't a jusidiction available to charge them with reckless endangerment! As a counter example, remember that the most famous single-handed circumnavigator, Joshua Slocum, disappeared somewhere between Boston and South America. Personally, I think single-handed cruising is a violation of the requirement that you keep an adequate watch - you can't do it and sleep. My father-in-law, a ship captain in the 1960s, met a small sloop in the middle of the Pacific, fortunately during daytime. Neither horn nor siren brought anyone up on deck. It was on vane autopilot, but was anyone on board? He never found out.

Yup, gonna need lots of blue water nannies out there scolding all those singlehanders. No more singlehanded trans Atlantic races, no more singlehanded round the world races, no more singlehanders just doing what pleases them. Maybe we should just give them all rocking chairs and confine them to their front porches.

[salticrak]

Not so long ago an 8m cat was the norm, have a read of Thomas Firth Jones' ''Multihull Voyaging''.
Fair winds to you.

[Jm2fly]

We would be glad to join you. We are sorta in the same boat. Learning to sail our 33ft CNC and should be ready for the voyage. Our dream.


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[Jm2fly]

PS. 5 weeks and I'm already at the 50 ft mast making a repair to the knot meter. Lol.

Dee Ann


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[Scout 30]

Congratulations on getting a very cool boat. One thing to remember about this site, there are always naysayers. A healthy respect for the sea is a must but don't let them dissuade you. Get as much experience as you can & don't avoid nasty weather because once you're crossing the pond you won't be able to. Also, you might consider getting a Jordan Series Drogue & a life raft.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Adelie

If I recall this model uses an outboard which means the prop will be coming out of the water in big seas, i.e. you don't want to motor in big seas. Unless you can find an old diesel outboard you will also be subject to a really hefty fuel effieciency penalty (60% the mpg of a diesel or worse). To that end:

While the OP indicated they had diesels, the idea you only get 60% of the MPG is flat out wrong with modern outboards. That might have applied 30yrs ago comparing to 2 stroke engines.

We had a similar size cat that came in both flavors. With a 4stroke gas outboard, we were only about 20% lower on the MPG of sister ships with diesel.

Also, no issues with the prop coming out in big seas is overstated on a boat designed for an outboard. We found it really wasn't a problem. The only time the prop ventilated was a couple of times in a 3' chop and that was easily eliminated by angling into the waves a bit. In larger waves, the whole boat road up and over the waves.

I like the idea of trying Bermuda as a test run. Assuming it's in good condition, I expect you would give up before the boat does.

[Scout 30]

I know your goal is the Med but with a 2' draft this boat is perfect for cruising the Florida Keys & the Bahamas. That would be a fun way to get some experience.

[gjordan]

Having done many thousands of miles in an even smaller boat (monohull) I would say it is very doable , and once you are sure the boat is sound and you have enough food and water storage, the most important thing will be to have reliable self steering. Having to hand steer across an ocean with 2 people will lead to bone jarring fatigue. Electric autopilots are great and I would recommend having one (or even 2) but the first thing I would depend on would be a mechanical windvane. Electrics have a bad habit of going bad just when you dont expect them to., and there are so many items in the chain of electric power that there are many ways for things to go wrong. Your 2 diesel engines will be wonderful for coastal cruising or cruising in the Med, but they are almost worse than useless for a long ocean passage. In your size boat you cant carry enough fuel for any distance motor sailing, or if you add extra fuel you will sacrifice much more important things like water or food. Too many people get caught in the trap of thinking they can motor through calms or light air and upon reaching their destination barely have enough fuel to get into port, or worse yet have run out of fuel and no longer can keep batteries up or motor at all. Good light air sails in a small boat are worth their weight in gold, but they must be in addition to your basic sails, storm sails etc. If your main doesnt have a second reef point sewn in, then have a sailmaker put in a good deep second reef. To get an idea of if your boat is ready for a long passage, try anchoring out for a few days and turn your main battery switch off and see how life onboard your boat is. You need to be able to get water from all of your tanks, get gas to your stove (if you have propane and a shut off solenoid), enough lighting down below to function. a way to pump both bilges, some way to navigate if you depend on chartplotters and all electric navigation, etc. You probably dont have an electric toilet on your size boat, but do you have a manual way to pump your holding tank? Back to my point on the propane stove (an assumption on my part) you need the spare parts and tools to remove the solenoid and plumb the system without it. It only means you have to go to the gas locker when you need to cook and then turn it off when finished, but that beats the heck out of cold food when you have plenty of gas left, but no way to get it to the stove. Many people will say that modern electrical systems are so reliable that not much can go wrong. Most of the time they are correct, but you should never go to sea without back-ups for the basics. Enough of my 25 cents worth of advice. Have a great cruise. ____Grant. I just re-read my post and must add a P.S. Have a fully charged small battery (motor cycle or lawn mower battery) stored so that you can run your VHF (for a long time) or even a SSB for a reasonable length of time. It is cheap insurance.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Jm2fly

PS. 5 weeks and I'm already at the 50 ft mast making a repair to the knot meter. Lol.

Dee Ann


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Knot meter on the mast? First time I've heard of one of those. How does it work?

[seagoose]

Thanks to all who responded- to those who say we should reconsider: we may as we get more experience. As I said, we're hoping to be able to go by 2018 after getting some more practice under our belt but I do not want to do anything reckless and irresponsible. If worst comes to worst, we will ship the boat over to the Med and continue practicing sailing around the southern coast of Spain. trying Bermuda and back first sounds like especially good advice.
I really and truly appreciate everyone's input. So many people told us 'You can't live on a boat', but we did for six months. They said 'You can't sail around the Keys, it's too shallow,' but we did it even in rough weather without much drama. So I need feedback from people who have actual experience. We will be careful and consider all input on this forum before making any decision.
I should confess part of the reason i even think about Newfoundland- my grandmother was a Beothuk Indian from the island of Twillingate. I was hoping to meet some distant relatives, but I'll pass it up for mine and my husband's safety.
Thank you all again.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by seagoose

Thanks to all who responded- to those who say we should reconsider: we may as we get more experience. As I said, we're hoping to be able to go by 2018 after getting some more practice under our belt but I do not want to do anything reckless and irresponsible.

If you were to ask the general public many would consider just buying a boat reckless & irresponsible. Hell, if you can't be a little reckless & irresponsible after you retire when can you be? Why let kids have all the fun?

[DDabs]

People telling you that you can't do things makes doing them so much more fun!

[RTB]

Originally Posted by seagoose

Hello, my newly-retired husband and I have purchased a 27' Catalac 8M catamaran. We sailed her from Marathon to North Carolina last summer and settled for a year in Wilmington. We will be giving up our apt to liveaboard in Sept. The plan is to practice our sailing for the next 2 years up and down the coast, and make the crossing to the Mediterranean in 2018.
Questions: Is it best to go Newfoundland-Ireland-Lisbon-Gibraltar or NC-Bermuda-Azores-Gibraltar? There are sailors from LI who have told me Montauk-Ireland is doable.
I know it's a small boat for a long trip, but it made it here from England over water. We will not make the trip without EPIRBS and communication set up.

I had the pleasure of enjoying a presentation by Ed and Sue Kelly here at Brunswick Landing Marina last month. They do have a 12M Catalac, so a bit larger. They really had a limited amount of experience before leaving for England. Very interesting couple to talk with. Quite an adventure they had.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30y1Fs9vjL8

Google USSV Angel Louise, and there is plenty of info. I do have their email and phone number if you care to have it.

Ralph

[tkeithlu]

Estarzinger summarized it very well. We've cautioned you to get experience before you take a big jump, but don't take that as a wet blanket on your dreams - it's just steps to take in realizing them without getting killed in the process. We're cruisers, but we all had to start from zero, we all have stories to tell, and some of us (not me, in fact) do or are ready to do what you dream about. Go for it.